How to ship safely with flags while preventing stale toggles and hidden dead code.
Treat flags as temporary
Every flag needs an owner and an expiration date. If you cannot state when it should be removed, it is probably a config setting, not a rollout flag.
Separate release and experiment flags
Release flags reduce deployment risk. Experiment flags measure behavior. Mixing both goals in one toggle creates confusing telemetry.
Automate cleanup
Use lint rules or CI checks to alert on stale flags. Removing dead branches keeps systems understandable.
